by Love Belvin
“I’ll consider that. But on to more connective and tangible actions, hope you don’t have plans this weekend…”
The door swung open and Mandee’s smiling face appeared. She was just as bubbly as she was on Monday. Tonight I decided to be nice. She did me a solid by staying longer with Wright so I could have more alone time with Parker.
“How you doin’?” I smiled at her.
“Hey, Rut! Come on in!” She moved aside to give me room. “Parker’s— Ut!” She turned to look behind her. “She’s right here!” Mandee giggled.
Parker was dragging a big, heavy looking ass trash bag from Wright’s room. She stopped to take a break. Then she turned to close the doors behind her, reminding me of her commitment to someone else. Another man.
“Hey.” Her greeting was low…tired, but that light in her eye told me I was welcomed.
“Hey, Gray.” My eyes rubbed against her full body.
Parker was wearing gray biker shorts again with a matching tank and black ankle socks. Of course, I searched for her camel toe. When my eyes pushed up to her face, what I knew for sure was a blush raised her cheeks.
“Can I help you with anything before I go?” Mandee asked.
“I thought I would be able to take this out back to throw in the trash bin out there, but sheesh! It’s heavy. I doubt you can do it.”
“You mind taking it back there, King?”
When the foyer got quiet, I realized someone said something to me. I looked over to Mandee who was waiting.
“Oh!” Me! “Yeah, I got you.” I made it over to Parker in two steps. “How do I get back there?”
“Through the kitchen.” She pointed.
Grabbing the bag, I headed that way. The kitchen was cleaned, no food left out for me. I called her earlier to tell her I’d be later than I planned because something came up.
Something fucked up came up…
Taking a deep breath, I mentally shook it off. I’d made it to my destination. I’d be sleeping with her tonight. That’s what I’d been craving for days. It’s what I needed.
Outside, a sensor light lit brightly and I peeped the bin right away. I lifted the lid and tossed the heavy bag inside. Then I walked out farther, wondering how big the yard was. It wasn’t the biggest, a modest size with high wooden fences for privacy. The space couldn’t be no more than forty feet by forty and was unkempt. Weeds growing all around…vines and shit. An old table and chair set was knocked over off to the side. I guessed Parker couldn’t do it all by herself. It was fucked up how Wright’s sons didn’t come cut the grass or pay somebody to do it, at least.
I shook my head and went back inside, making sure to lock the door again. Parker and Mandee were still in the foyer.
“Rut, would you convince this woman to hang out with me and Nurse Jackie?” Mandee asked, animated with it.
“Who’s Nurse Jackie?”
Parker rolled her eyes. “One of Jimmy’s visiting nurses. You’ve seen her.”
“What’s wrong with hanging out with them?”
Parker’s eyes went wild. “Nothing. They’ve been jewels for me. My sanity and lifelines.”
“But she won’t let us plan something for her birthday,” Mandee argued. “She can schedule a nurse here for a few hours that night.”
My eyes were glued to Parker. “When’s ya birthday?”
“The twenty-seventh,” Mandee answered first. “She’s a sensitive ass Cancer!” She teased.
“No. I am not, and you know it, Mandee!”
“Could you talk to her?” Mandee cried, dramatically.
I had no idea what to say. I was still stuck on her having a birthday coming.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Mandee’s arms shot into the air and dropped. “Thank you!”
“Whatever!” Parker waved her off.
Mandee picked up a bag near her feet. “Well, I’m going to get out of here,” she yawned. “I’m sure you two have a packed agenda that doesn’t include the neighbor from across the street.”
I snorted. “An agenda like what?”
Parker covered her face with her hands and shook her head.
“You know, like bump and grind.” I almost died when ol’ girl rolled her hips.
“Mandee!” Parker shouted, but not too loud. She laughed when Mandee’s shoulders and hands lifted in the air. “Trust me, as appealing as it sounds, it’s not that type of party.”
An expression of confusion was etched on her face. “I know I’m young, but you can keep it real with me. I won’t be running to Spilling That Hot Tea.” She winked. So damn corny this white girl—or maybe she was Asian.
I wasn’t sure; she looked both.
“Mandee!” Parker warned her again.
Mandee turned for the door. “Okay. I’m out. Thanks for the extra cash Monday night, Rut. It went a long way on Porn Hut.”
“Mandee!” This time Parker yelled louder than she usually liked it around here due to Wright.
Mandee hurried out, obviously knowing she went too far. Parker closed and locked the door behind her and put her back to it, taking a deep breath.
“I’m sorry. She’s a gabby twenty-one-year-old.” Parker smiled.
“She white?”
“Mixed. Mom’s white and her father is Vietnamese.” I nodded, seeing I wasn’t too far off. “She came to clean out my old stock. I’m making room for new formulas for my lotions. Oh!” She stood straight. “That reminds me. I have something for you.”
“That’s what’s up.”
“You sure you aren’t hungry? I can warm you up something.”
I stared at her. Parker was so damn pretty. Even with tired eyes and no makeup on when she rocked that high ponytail.
“I’m good. I grabbed something on my way home from camp.”
“Okay,” she sang, teasing me. “You can go ahead upstairs. I’m going to make sure he’s good then I’ll be up for a much needed shower.”
She took off for Wright’s room, leaving me to it.
“I missed you,” was the masculine rumble I heard as I sat on the bed, positioned at his side.
My hands that were about to move the blanket down to his lower back, hovered in the air. Those three words danced in my chest, they hugged my lungs.
Shrouded in the darkness of my room, I quietly emmited, “You did, huhn?”
“Mmhmm…” he hummed.
I reached over to where I lay the bottle of oil near my feet and squirted the liquid into my hand.
“I’ve been thinking about you in your absence, too.” I had to admit. “A little,” I joked.
Then I found his back. When I left the bathroom from my shower, the light in there illuminated into the bedroom and I saw him lying on his stomach shirtless. As soon as I gauged his position underneath me, I began to rub it in.
Oh, his back…
Jimmy was fit for his age, but he was average height and weight. I’d been getting used to appreciating broad muscle mass areas of the male anatomy. The cut and grooves in Rut’s back, shoulders, arms, abs—heck, all over his body were beautiful. They were the hallmarks of a lifelong athlete. My days as a cheerleader were long gone, but I remembered being in prime shape and working out regularly to maintain and strengthen, so my respect for his dedication was immense.
“What’s this?” his thick, lazy chords rang out.
“Something I made just for you yesterday,” my delivery was slow, hopefully soothing. “It’s an oil mix I thought would work well with your natural body odors.” After being in his lap Monday night, I couldn’t get his scent out of my head. Mixing aromas had been a craft of mine, and I was inspired to create something for him. “I mixed a base note of sandalwood with jojoba oil, jasmine, musk, and a few more goodies. All of those, and came up with my new fragrance.”
“What’s it called?” His mouth was slack, it sounded.
“Kadar,” I whispered, turned on by the lumps on his sides, separating his hip from his waist.
“K
adar,” he mumbled. “I like that.”
“I do, too. I like Kadar a lot.” My hands froze.
That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean—
“Don’t stop,” he almost pleaded clearly when he lifted his head. “It’s been a week of posturin’ and frontin’. Let’s dead that for the night.”
“Okay,” creaked from my tight throat.
Seconds later, my hands began to move again.
“Speaking of this week, Bailey asked about you.”
Bailey?
“Oh!” I remembered. “Trent?”
“Yeah. He left the family in Europe for a few days while he flew in for minicamp. Supposed to be flying back out to them in the morning.”
“So you both have morning flights?” I noted.
When Rut texted me earlier saying he’d be coming later tonight, he mentioned it was because he had to prepare for a last minute flight in the morning.
“Yup. And I hate it,” he mumbled against the pillow again. Things quieted and I got lost in his right shoulder. I had no experience at massages but hoped I was giving a good rub down.
“You never answered my question?”
“Huhn?” That snapped me out of my thoughts. “What?”
“How’ve you been?”
“We’ve spoken every day this week.”
“But I haven’t seen you. Ain’t been in your bed to know for sure.”
“So you have to be in my bed to gauge my mood?”
He snorted. “Pretty much.”
“I’ve been tired. Not a lot of sleep for me—at least, not restful. Jimmy’s been running a fever on and off. We have him on a script now to hopefully address that. I worry about his comfort levels all the time. Couple that with hearing from James Junior, who hardly calls me or come by, about these pictures on the Internet of me and the rookie from team… Yadda, yadda.” I rolled my eyes, though no one could see.
“Sorry.”
“No need to be. I’m a big girl.”
“And what did he say?”
“Nothing really. We went back and forth with me telling him I’m none of his business and he should be more concerned about his father. Then he threatened to kick me out—”
The muscles in Rut’s back went rigid.
“Kick you out?”
My face folded. “Yeah. It’s been a while, but that’s nothing new with Jimmy’s kids. They’re always talking about alternative living arrangements for him.”
“And you stand for that?” his tone was coarse. “They know how much you slave around here after him?”
“Ummmm…” My head slowly turned to my shoulder as my lips pouted. “That’s a good question. They know all of his major care changes because they have to consent to them, but they’re honestly hardly around to see them implemented.”
Rut’s body swiveled around with athletic speed and I was tossed in the air and swung on the other side of him, landing on my back. Then he rolled me on to my side to face him.
I couldn’t abandon my hysteric laughter. His quickness and strength always blew me away.
“What was that about?” I asked, my hands raised.
“I don’t want you talking about them anymore. You’re tired.”
“I still have oil on my hands.”
“Then here.” When Rut pushed them into his hard chest, my smile was gone in an instant. “Put it here,” he murmured.
I rubbed against his pecs and shoulders then up to his thick neck. When I went back down to his dusted chest, I thumbed his peaked nipples. Swallowing hard, I wondered how they’d feel on my tongue. Rut’s heavy and uneven breathing built a throb between my thighs. My greedy hands slid low, rubbing the last of the oil into his taut skin. When I felt the beginning of his pubic trail, my heart thundered. My grip was uneasy from the shakes that had begun, but I went lower. I wanted to. Rut had been a gentleman the past couple of weeks, but I now wanted the hellion from Trenton with the big ego.
And big…
Against my thumping pulse, my hand pushed down in to the heat of his boxer brief elastic waist. The moment the tips of my finger made it to the thick root of his erection, my arm was pulled away.
“No.”
Then my body was turned over so my back was to him.
“Go to sleep, Gray.”
And that was it.
My hands clawed the sheet, spine arched over the mattress, and toes curled.
“Rut!” I panted.
His long arms pushed from my hips and palmed my breasts. I knew I wouldn’t hold out much longer. His thumbs strummed my nipples, tongue pelted my engorged clit. My groin tightened, hips rolled to meet the rhythm of his lashes.
Until I imploded.
“Oh!” My head whipped from side to side. “Oh!” My sex rode his face as my shoulders danced over the mattress.
Rut stopped when my butt slammed against the mattress in fatigue. His big hand stroked my hip with adoration as he leaned his head against my thigh. After long seconds of my ragged breath cutting the dark air of the early morning, he shuffled from between my thighs and took off for the bathroom.
Instantly, I felt bereft. My eyes watered and face contorted, but I fought back the tears. He’d done it again. Once I was fast to sleep from my last check in on Jimmy, Rut awakened me with tongue kisses below. And once again, he delivered spine-bending orgasms, leaving me feeling vulnerable and confused.
I heard the shower run and I rolled over, cupping my face from the barrage of emotions encroaching upon me. What were we doing? Tomorrow would make three weeks since I’ve met this guy and I felt like I’ve known him all my life. I craved his presence, adored his mind, and ached for his touch. Why did I not feel as close to him as I’d liked?
This is insane!
I wouldn’t be that girl who wanted more from a guy than he wanted from her anymore. Absolutely not! Rut was young, too young. And he had no business being backed into a corner for a relationship with me. Hell, I was knocking on thirty’s door. He wasn’t even twenty-five. But still… I couldn’t deny the emotional connection we’d found ourselves into in no time at all.
Even if he wanted something with me, it could never work. I couldn’t be in a relationship with a high profile athlete. Monday was a patent example of what life would be like with someone like Rut. And could I expect him to be faithful? I honestly didn’t know the answer to that. At his age, his sex drive was to heaven’s height. But I couldn’t corroborate that, considering he’d been holding to ‘no sex with Parker’ with his therapist. I’d long since wanted to abandon the same heeding from my own.
Ughhhh…
This was frustrating. I needed to focus on my priority. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to me. It was to Jimmy. His health continued to decline, and I needed to make things as comfortable as I could for him. Each day in this battle with him, I was astounded at his spot-on prediction of his children’s support. I was all he had. Until I completed my commitment to Jimmy, I’d just take what Rut offered in terms of companionship. Maybe this obscure relationship thing worked for him, too.
Ughhhhh…
“You ever been to France?” his voice was thick and hoarse, and such a turn on.
I rolled over and saw him standing over the bed through the streak of the light from the bathroom. Letting off a little sniffle, I turned over completely to face him.
“Uhhhh…” I swallowed, grateful I hadn’t cried. “No. Can’t say I have.”
“It’ll be cool to go.”
“Have you been?”
“Nah.”
Oh.
“You good?” His eyes darkened as they swept down my exposed body.
No!
“Ye-yeah, I guess.” I snickered nervously.
“I gotta hit the road. Fats waiting for me at the crib so we can hit up this flight.”
“Okay.”
He reached down and offered a pound with his fist. Shakily, my arm raised and I reciprocated.
Rut moved for the door. He opened it and turned to m
e.
“Park?” his voice was lowered, humbled.
“Yeah?”
“This L.A. trip for business…”
“Yeah?” I hung on to his every word, something not unfounded considering the orgasms and need of him.
“It’s with Emily. Just want you to know before some other shit pop off.”
I swallowed hard. “Oh. Okay.”
What else was I supposed to say? Do? Should I have asked for details? Was I allowed to? Of course, not. Instead, I left the bed to disarm the alarm system so he could go.
~Fifteen
I missed her. Damn, I missed the fuck out of her. It had only been a day, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“Rut, dear…” I looked up to see Emily’s moms, Ellis, combing her fingers through her short, jet black hair. Her eyes were red from all the champagne she had tonight. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good, Ms. E. Just out here to make a call,” I lied about being on the balcony.
I came out here to take a damn breath. There were so many people in their Simi Valley, California mansion to celebrate her sixty-fifth birthday. Too many people in my damn face, asking when I was going to propose to Emily, a fucking stranger to me. One lady from the Bravo Network asked when we were going to have a baby. She said she’d love to get us a reality show. The fuck? That’s when I had to get out of there.
“Okay. We’ll be taking a family picture soon, so don’t stay out here too long.” She giggled before taking off in her long gown and high heels she could barely walk in now.
I was ready to fucking go. I’d been bored as hell since I landed yesterday. Divine wasn’t in town. Apparently, Rayna took him out of the country from all the hype coming out over the damn documentary. That fucking blog, Spilling That Hot Tea, was in the lead with releasing pictures and anonymous DMs from people confirming connections they had to drug dealers loosely connected to Divine back in the day. So far, my name had been kept out of it, even though each day I wondered if the relationship between my pops and D would surface.
So, I was here. Alone. Emily wanted to go out last night and I lied about being tired from leaving minicamp and hopping on the plane to be here at her moms’ celebration tonight. She didn’t ride me much on it but she did show to my hotel late this morning, wanting to go out to brunch. We did. And guess what? Those fucking pictures were floating around in cyberspace.
